Thiruvananthapuram: Attempts are being made to credit CPM for the housing project in Wayanad, alleged opposition leader V D Satheesan on Monday. He asserted that govt built the houses using public funds.At a news conference in Kollam as part of his Puthu Yuga Yatra, Satheesan said it was improper to portray the project as a CPM initiative when the houses were constructed using contributions to Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund. “Everyone, including the general public and UDF representatives, contributed to the fund. Politicising this is wrong,” he said.He criticised chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his cabinet colleagues for remaining silent when Kalpetta MLA T Siddique was allegedly booed at the official function. Satheesan alleged that the act was orchestrated and those who shouted slogans were not disaster victims but persons brought in from outside. “CPM is behind the conspiracy,” he said.Referring to remarks by revenue minister K Rajan, Satheesan questioned the basis of the statement “our programme is not about laying foundation stones and leaving”. He said, “Ministers must understand the decorum of an official event.” Satheesan maintained that govt constructed houses only for families in three wards of a single panchayat affected by the disaster. He credited Siddique with leading rescue efforts soon after the calamity and facilitating assistance, including support for nearly 150 students pursuing studies in India and abroad.He added that Muslim League built 52 houses before the govt initiative and Karnataka govt too provided Rs 10 crore for housing. He criticised the delay of nearly one year in land acquisition for the project.
